Haikus

Waves
Rushing to the shore
Crashing - surging frantic foam
Cool ripples withdraw

Rain
Pitter pattering
It starts with a single drop
Then the sky opens

Pond
Calm still tranquil place
Miniature lake, teems with life
Peaceful home for ducks

Canal
Handmade waterway
Transport Victorian goods
Barges chug along

Beach
Sandy coastal banks
Dog walks and holiday folk
Breathe the salty breeze

Storm
Hear distant rumbles?
The disturbance rolls nearer
A flash! It begins.

Waterfall
Tumbling gracefully
Carving her own path southward
Cascading beauty

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 Water Haikus

Questions
1. Which of the haikus is not about a body of water? Tick one
○pond
○beach
○waves
○canal

2. Look at this haiku. Underline one word which means 'small'.

Calm still tranquil place

Miniature lake, teams with l ife
Peaceful home for ducks
3. Find and copy one word which means ‘far away’.

4. Fill in the missing words.
waterway
Transpost Victorian goods
Barges along

5. Which haiku mentions a violent weather event?



6. Which of the haikus is your favourite? Explain why.





7. Compare the Waves haiku with the Beach haiku.





8. Discuss how haikus are different from other types of poetry.




 Water Haikus

Answers
1. Which of the haikus is not about a body of water? Tick one
○pond
○beach
○waves
○canal

2. Look at this haiku. Underline one word which means 'small'.

Calm still tranquil place

Miniature lake, teams with life
Peaceful home for ducks
3. Find and copy one word which means ‘far away’.
distant
4. Fill in the missing words.
Handmade waterway
Transpost Victorian goods
Barges chug along

5. Which haiku mentions a violent weather event?

storm

6. Which of the haikus is your favourite? Explain why.

Pupils’ own responses, such as: My favourite haiku is the first one about the waves. This
is because I like the way the poet describes the waves pounding the shore with words
like ‘rushing’ and ‘crashing’, I also like the alliteration they use in ‘frantic foam’.

7. Compare the Waves haiku with the Beach haiku.

Pupils’ own responses, such as: I think these two poems have some differences and some
similarities. They are both about the sea - one about the beach the other about waves.
However, they are also different because Waves uses alliteration and onomatopoeia and
Beach uses descriptions and talks about the smells of the sea.

8. Discuss how haikus are different from other types of poetry.

Pupils’ own responses, such as: Haikus are different from other poems because they
have rules about how many lines they have and how many syllables can be on each line.
This means that the poet has to be very precise with their language.
 Water Haikus

Questions
1. Which of these words are not examples of onomatopoeia? Tick one
○crashing
○pitter
○calm
○rushing
2. Draw four lines and match each haiku to the correct description.

Rain A violent weather event.

Pond A sandy area by the sea.

Beach A small area of still water.

Storm Water that falls from the sky.


3. Find and copy one word which is a synonym for ‘calm’.


4. Which poem mentions a waterbird?



5. Fill in the missing words.

gracefully
Carving her own path southward
beauty

6. Explain two things that the haiku about the Storm tells you.
1.
2.
7. Compare the description of the Beach with the description of the Waves.




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 Water Haikus

8. Summarise the ways in which the poet describes water in this collection of haikus.




9. Which haiku do you think is most effective? Explain your answer using evidence
from the text.




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 Water Haikus

Answers
1. Which of these words are not examples of onomatopoeia? Tick one
○crashing
○pitter
○calm
○rushing
2. Draw four lines and match each haiku to the correct description.

Rain A violent weather event.

Pond A sandy area by the sea.

Beach A small area of still water.

Storm Water that falls from the sky.


3. Find and copy one word which is a synonym for ‘calm’.
tranquil

4. Which poem mentions a waterbird?

pond

5. Fill in the missing words.

Tumbling gracefully
Carving her own path southward
Cascading beauty

6. Explain two things that the haiku about the Storm tells you.
Pupils’ own responses, such as:
1. The haiku tells me that the storm is noisy: ‘Hear distant rumbles’.
2. It also tells me that lightning arrives: ‘A flash! It begins'.
7. Compare the description of the Beach with the description of the Waves.
Pupils’ own responses, such as: In the Beach haiku, the poet tells me about the sandy
banks of the beach and the salty breeze in the air. Whereas in Waves haiku, the poet
describes the rushing and crashing of the water colliding with the shore.

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 Water Haikus

8. Summarise the ways in which the poet describes water in this collection of haikus.
Pupils’ own responses, such as: The poet uses lots of different descriptions of water
because there are lots of different types of water in the haikus. The waves are rushing
and crashing, the pond is calm and still, the rain is pitter pattering and the canal is a
historical means of transportation.

9. Which haiku do you think is most effective? Explain your answer using evidence
from the text.
Pupils’ own responses, such as: I think the haiku Rain is the most effective because the
first line describes the exact sound of rain falling.

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 Water Haikus

Questions
1. Which of these words are not examples of onomatopoeia? Tick one.
○crashing
○pitter
○calm
○rushing
2. Draw four lines and match each poem to the correct description.

Rain A violent weather event.

Pond A sandy area by the sea.

Beach A small area of still water.

The way water falls from the

Storm clouds to the ground.

3. Find and copy one word which means ‘turmoil’ or ‘disruption’.


4. Fill in the missing words.

Calm still place

lake, teams with life
Peaceful home for ducks

5. What is a barge?


6. Look at this haiku. What does this poem tell us about the waterfall?

Tumbling gracefully
Carving her own path southward
Cascading beauty




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 Water Haikus
7. Summarise the poetic devices that the poet uses to describe water across this collection
of haikus.




8. What impression does the poet give you of Waves in the haiku about them?




9. Using ideas from the haiku collection, write your own haiku about a river. Remember there
are three lines. The first and third lines have five syllables and the second line has seven
syllables.




10. What impression do you get about water from this collection of haikus? Give two
impressions with evidence from the haikus to support them.

Impression Evidence

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 Water Haikus

Answers
1. Which of these words are not examples of onomatopoeia? Tick one.
○crashing
○pitter
○calm
○rushing
2. Draw four lines and match each poem to the correct description.

Rain A violent weather event.

Pond A sandy area by the sea.

Beach A small area of still water.

The way water falls from the

Storm clouds to the ground.


3. Find and copy one word which means ‘turmoil’ or ‘disruption’.

disturbance

4. Fill in the missing words.

Calm still tranquil place

Minitaure lake, teams with life
Peaceful home for ducks

5. What is a barge?
A barge is a type of boat.

6. Look at this haiku. What does this poem tell us about the waterfall?

Tumbling gracefully
Carving her own path southward
Cascading beauty
Pupils’ own responses, such as: This haiku tells me that the waterfall is falling and
cascading elegantly down making its own path. The poet uses the pronoun ‘her’ to
personify the waterfall.

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 Water Haikus
7. Summarise the poetic devices that the poet uses to describe water across this collection
of haikus.
Pupils’ own responses, such as: The poet uses a range of poetic devices such as
alliteration ‘frantic foam’ and personification ‘her own path’.

8. What impression does the poet give you of Waves in the haiku about them?
Pupils’ own responses, such as: The poet gives me the impression that the waves are
powerful and paints an image of them crashing onto the shore over and over again:
‘Rushing up in a foamy frenzy’.

9. Using ideas from the haiku collection, write your own haiku about a river. Remember there
are three lines. The first and third lines have 5 syllables and the second line has seven
syllables.
Any appropriate attempt at a haiku.

10. What impression do you get about water from this collection of haikus? Give two
impressions with evidence from the haikus to support them.

Impression Evidence
Water can take many forms. - It starts with a single drop
- Cool ripples withdraw
- Miniature lake, teams with life
- Handmade waterway
- Sandy coastal banks
- Hear distant rumbles?
- Cascading beauty
Water is powerful. - Crashing - surging frantic foam
- Then the sky opens
- The disturbance rolls nearer
- Carving her own path southward
Water has many uses. - Carving her own path southward
- Sandy coastal banks
- Dog walks and holiday folk
- Transport Victorian goods
- Peaceful home for ducks
- Handmade waterway
Water can be found in many places. - Rushing to the shore
- Then the sky opens
- Minitaure lake, teams with life
- Handmade waterway
Water is beautiful. - Tubling gracefully
- Cascading beauty
- Calm, still tranquil place

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